De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Aug 21 - 05:28 PM

Melba sauce. I have two recipes from my old Fanny Farmer Cookbook

Melba Sauce I is the one I make:

The simplest version
Crush 1 cup canned, frozen, or fresh raspberries. Strain to remove the seeds. Add 1/4 cup sugar and cook slowly for 10 minutes.

Melba Sauce II has more ingredients. It's also the one I'm finding online, so I'll post a link.
Food.com melba sauce has a good layout.

The first time I made this it was because, like you, I found myself with a container of frozen raspberries on hand. I had made a bread pudding to take to one of my small seminar classes that day and thought the raspberry would make it more special. It blew me away how good that raspberry sauce was over the pudding.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Charmion
Date: 22 Aug 21 - 05:09 PM

I have spent two solid days listening to an audiobook, “The Great Influenza” by James M. Barry. Fine popular history — by that, I mean the kind written to tell a fascinating story about something important that really happened — and uncomfortably prescient in its concluding chapter, the obligatory “So what?” part of the book. It was published about 15 years ago.

A point the author consistently makes is that troop movements and concentrations of military personnel and industrial workers vastly magnified the impact of the 1918 pandemic, which makes me feel a lot better about the lockdowns and travel bans we have had since March 2020.

On the home front, the chest freezer is now stripped down to rather a lot of soup stock in litre containers, one litre of mashed raspberries for which I have no plans although they date from July 2020, and one litre of Marcella Hazan’s delicious tomato sauce for pasta. I think the last time I bought meat was something like six or seven weeks ago, when I got a large chicken to feed the in-laws. Nowadays I eat mostly fish or vegetarian meals.

What would you do with a litre of mashed raspberries? Not jam — I have enough raspberry jam to last me the rest of my life.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Aug 21 - 12:56 PM

Dorothy, right now the lowest temperature of the day here is around 77^o, at about 7am. That's when I try to walk the dogs so they don't overheat (the pavement isn't too hot for their feet yet).

I'm processing pickled okra every couple of days; I had to pick up another gallon of apple cider vinegar to make the next batch of brine.

I've watered this morning and am now going out for a few minutes at a time to trim more limbs off of the huge native sunflowers. They're dropping branches as they dry out and the seed heads get heavy. All of that will go behind the back fence. While I'm back there emptying the sunflower carcasses I'll start cutting down some of the privet. I should get some more steps on my fitness tracker today.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 21 Aug 21 - 10:07 PM

Beaver:

Another deadly day. Instead of trying to get up and get to work, I merely accepted this was not going to happen, had a leisurely BF and drove up to the Farmers' Market where I chatted with only one person, happy with the heat! She is cold all the time; I was glad to see her out and about with her needlework for sale. Then to the Shop and a more thorough study of what sells/what our public likes. I still have a bunch to glaze and will follow these suggestions! My public is spoiled rotten with the variety I offer, a variety which drives me bonkers as I try to decide what to do with "These pots". Major de-clutter would be if I made enough/often enough to do a whole batch in "This", then the next batch in "That"!

Looks like yet another week of TOO HOT! So I shall just muddle along. Rather nice outside tonight; I read on back deck for awhile. It was still too hot to DO anything! Still 77f in the house at 10 pm, with two fans pulling in "cooler" air. Feels fine as long as I don't move!

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Aug 21 - 09:12 PM

Jon, you inspired me to do something about my network here - the WiFi viewing network that uses Amazon Fire sticks. I've seen information lately about local television broadcasts over WiFi, so today I researched it and added the Local Broadcast "Locast" app to the Fire sticks in two rooms. I had to go through and select my favorite channels and once it was set on one television I just had to download and activate the app on the next set. I'll have to repeat that on each set with a fire stick (they're all through the house.) It's free to use but the site asks for donations, so I'll send in a modest account. I think it is a setup that can stream broadcast channels in certain communities. The thing about this is that in a couple of rooms in the house the outside HD antenna doesn't pick up one of the major networks, but I'll be able to stream it through the WiFi, so the most practical application of this is to get that last local channel to play in those rooms.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 21 Aug 21 - 11:41 AM

Sane is the standard on Linux, SRS and it can "just work". There would be no reason for you to want it. The most complicated part of my set is, believe it or not, is getting the buttons to work. Than needs something called scanbd Between that and Sane itself, I got myself in a mess where I couldn't see what was blocking what... (mostly permission problems in more that one place).

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Aug 21 - 10:35 AM

Jon, when I clicked on your SANE link I see that it is compatible with my devices, but I have my scanner set up the way I want and don't need external connections. I suspect you're doing all of these setups around the house just to prove you can! :)

I know what you mean about hit or miss in the garden. I'm waiting to see if cooler weather gives the chard a boost, right now it's small and not doing much. The tomatoes are about done (they may revive in the fall) and the okra has exploded with pods, but the ants are moving in and I need to knock them down a bit. I'll spray a mix of spinosad and orange oil onto all of the plant stems on the inside of the jungle, and sprinkle in some ant bait in case any of these are fire ants.

I canned four jars of pickled okra yesterday and have about as many to do again today. The case of jars from the pantry has gone through the dishwasher and is ready for the next batch. Tomatoes need blanching, dicing, and freezing again today. I may be sending friends and family home with pints of frozen tomatoes this fall.

The dog walk was different this morning; I took the two younger dogs on their own walk around the neighborhood, and upon returning to the house grabbed the old guy and walked him up one side of the street and backdown the other, about a 1/4 mile total for him. I wanted to see how he was doing on his own; I think lately we've been dragging him along more than he likes, and he is getting pretty old and arthritic. The other benefit of this second walk is that my mileage went up on the Google Fit (it does a very good job now of tracking my walk, but it does draw down the battery fast if you leave it on all day.) I've ordered a 12-hour chewable aspirin for him, to see if that helps (I'll call the vet to see what they say about using this.) Also ordered dog food (over $50 and I get free shipping) and if I order at least a week out from when I need it that seems to be about right. I like the products from Tractor Supply but around here there are a lot of non-masked shoppers in the store who occasionally smirk when I walk in with a mask in place. It was a love-hate relationship with management and masks all during 2020, when I did a lot of curbside pickup, and if they are willing to ship 60 pounds of dog food for free, that's no skin off of my nose!

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 21 Aug 21 - 05:30 AM

Scanners have occupied my last two days. It started with the decision to get rid of mum’s scanner in the study. That led me to revising/restoring the set up for the scanner in my room. I decided to move the USB only scanner to a Raspberry Pi so it could be shared without the need for my desktop PC on and it took me ages to get the settings right.

Anyway, I got where I wanted to be with that. The scanner is shared on the network via Sane. My Androids can use it via Sane Droid, amongst other options, my scanner (Java) program will work with it on Linux and even Windows if I wanted it. I’ve arranged the scanner buttons so that I have, Colour jpeg, colour and mono pdf, colour and mono print to my photo printer and colour and mono print to the study laser printer – all at resolutions, etc. suitable for quick general use.

I might have finished there but in trying to establish what was working where, I noticed that xsane was producing better scans than my attempt and even better was VueScan I’d downloaded to try. Particularly intriguing was its 64bit RGBI format. I get the idea (and the no Linux version available silverfast has something similar called HRDI) and can get an infra red scan with transparencies but piecing that together with a regular scan to eliminate marks is way beyond me… I’ve made a compromise instead. I’ve got a USB switch coming today and the scanner will be switchable between the pi for normal sharing and work and my desktop where in can be used with the (now purchased) VueScan if there is ever a need for “best quality” scans.

It’s probably all a bit silly considering the small amount of use a scanner usually gets here but, for now, I’ll consider it a job well done.

Elsewhere, I’ve still got good few meals of the Nicola salad potatoes (which have stayed good despite the tops I cut off showing the signs of blight) to come. We’ve had a couple of meals with the aubergines, I’ve got one bag of them stewed up with courgettes in the freezer and more ready to pick. The Swiss Chard has been delicious, lettuce are abundant (think well have to try a soup). A surprise was a free packet of carrot seed (which I think came with Gardeners World magazine) I just threw in a tub. Not thinned out and of course a lot were very small but I picked out one meal’s worth of useable ones and I (and mum does likewise) reckon their the sweetest carrots I’ve ever tasted. I should get another 2 pickings from the tub.

Some disappointments too. Outside the odd stray one, I’ve yet to pick ripe tomatoes and am not going to get a “cooking quantity”. French climbing beans struggled, my brassica doesn’t look too happy, rhubarb never came to anything worth picking… But at least we’ve had and are getting something to enjoy and I don’t think it’s been the best of growing years in this area.

I’ve left the porch floor till next year and I’m almost certain to defer the green shed clear out too now. I feel I should have done better than I have so far this year but lack of motivation for some jobs, the weather and getting distracted by other things have all been factors.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Aug 21 - 10:42 PM

Cheese blintzes! Don, you remind me that I really enjoyed making crepes a couple of years ago (it was for a dessert when family were here - so not during 2020!)

Dorothy, your Dan is my Antonio. I haven't seen him for a while and I'm sure he's busy mowing and putting up fences and such; when I need something done I give him a call and because I've recommended him so often he makes a point of trying to come by fairly soon after the request goes in. We know who our friends are. :) I have a couple of trees that aren't near the power lines that he can take care of (I need to hire a company insured for working near power lines for the others.)

My neighbors on both sides are very happy to receive generous quantities of fresh okra from the garden. I canned a half-gallon of okra (pickles) today and gave away another half-gallon fresh and still have that much in the fridge to use tomorrow. I should fry some and take them over to the across-the-street neighbor with COPD - I know she loves fried okra, but she doesn't cook much now. There are three in that household, so maybe I should get out the deep fryer.

I was looking at my potted plants this evening—I have some trimmings given me by a friend that are growing nicely outside in pots and now need a place in the yard. Everything he suggests and offers samples of seem to grow well, and it means I need to work on the beds some more. As fall approaches it's time to thin some iris and I may put some of my friends plants in those beds.

Our yards and houses reflect our interests and our friends' gifts - this is as it should be!

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 20 Aug 21 - 10:09 PM

BEAVER!!!

Came on Monday and recovering all week: Grocery runs on Tuesday. Trip to shop on Weds to take a few pots but found there is already too much of that colour so just left a couple small vases. Pat gave me a treatise on what sells best - not really sure what she told me! She talks too fast. I will just do what I can.

Biggie was to wash and cut hair; Did not realize how much I needed to be rid of! Feels so great. On the other hand, I gained about 8 pounds in QC. OH well.

Was glad to find the little pots I threw before I left and had carefully wrapped, thinking I would be back in a few days! - were just right for trimming - Done! And threw about 20 mugs; they were ready to trim today so I made the handles and trimmed the mugs but the heat got to me and now the mugs and handles are well wrapped until morning when I will finish the job before it gets too hot - she says hopefully!

Dan came by. I showed him pics of Robin's events - pocket park and the gates on Mill St. And we agreed on the work needing to be done - remove the destroyed by the ice gutter, and the addition of a roof over the walkway to studio so I don't have to carry buckets of hot water to melt the ice/snow that falls from the roof before I could open the door. He will also do something to keep the ice from taking out the chimney again. The heating wire he installed did not do the job - I suspect the wiring was inadequate - NOT his fault! I do wish I had a Dan in QC!

The yard is dreadfully overgrown; Steve is coming when he can but do not blame him for not hurrying in this heat. I could have asked him to do it while I was away but was loathe to expect him to wait to be paid. Silly me; we do that in the winter when he keeps the drive clear whether or not I am here. This will be the last yard clearing for this year. Next year I shall leave it to him to keep it down.

Apparently there was lots of rain while I was away; we had almost none in QC. R reports he is watering the plants and eating the food I left him!

Chick peas cooking to make hummous in the am. Distiller going. Fan exhausting heat from K. Small fan blowing on me! Sure makes a difference! I could work in the studio but I ran out of steam by 8 pm. Spent most of the afternoon in a semi stupour - half reading, half sleeping. I feel as though I have done a hard day's work. Just surviving the heat. All my wonderful plans for the pots I would make...! I will be happy with whatever gets done! Labour Day weekend might be busy at the shop... I don't want to let Pat down - but there is tons of a huge variety of other stuff in the shop.

I am SO happy to be here in the swamp! Quiet, trees...

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Donuel
Date: 20 Aug 21 - 05:06 PM

The humidity has gone from a slap in the face with a hot wet towel to a now medium sauna. Its good enough to do tile work outside.
I'm going to have to hire a 30 foot tree removal that is too close to the house and power lines. Its rained everyday for a week so the grass is on a growing spree. Can't use an electric mower in the wet so I can procrastinate with impunity.
I did the marketing and got the ingredients to make blueberry cheese blintzes. Strawberry blintzes will be next if I succeed.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Aug 21 - 11:25 AM

Expanding on yesterday's privet remark: in the second week of September comes my street's quarterly bulky waste pickup. I need to head to the back of the back yard (beyond the fence) and cut down the privet that are there and start dragging them to the front of the yard. For a while they'll sit beside the garage because the code enforcement folks don't want bulky stuff at the curb too early. I'll use the battery powered Ryobi reciprocating saw and a couple of sharp lopper hand tools.

This should clear out space for some of the better species of trees that have sprouted (oaks and pecans planted by squirrels).

I'm going to be processing more pickled okra and blanching tomatoes to dice and freeze today. The season will shift soon, I'm trying to keep up with what is here now. I gave away a half-dozen or more tomatoes yesterday (slicers good for BLT sandwiches). I also headed out to the garden with a mix of compost tea and spinosad in water to spritz on the various stinkbug varieties trying to take over. If I can hit the nymphs they are more likely to die from the spinosad; I need to take out the flyswatter and clobber the adults that are in view. Another trick is to take out a hand-vac and suck them off of plants.

We're still in the heat of summer, but there are cracks around the edges now. The quality of the light in the morning is different than it was in June; the trees are starting to drop leaves after a hot season, not the usual fall drop that happens here usually in November, but the reaction to heat that some of the trees have. The garden plantings are now huge and sprawling, but there are dried parts of the oldest part of the tomato plants, the okra is huge, and the native sunflowers around the edges are starting to drop limbs as the seed heads gain weight. They're not big seeds like the ones you buy at the store, but the shape is the same on a much smaller scale. I'll be dragging those to the back yard to toss under the area where I'll cut down privet. They can break down back there, seeds wash into the creek and downstream to sprout along the Trinity River banks. My canning shelves are full to overflowing (I'll be moving things on the next shelf up to make room for more pint jar cases) and it has been a satisfactory growing season. I have lots of canned goods to share with friends and neighbors.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Aug 21 - 12:08 PM

Thunderstorms in the forecast again today with wretchedly high humidity. I didn't walk the dogs this morning, it was going to be a clammy slog.

Another case of pint canning jars has been retrieved from the pantry and will run through the dishwasher for the next round of processing okra pickles. Activity in other parts of the garden is at a standstill right now; tomatoes won't set well again until it cools, and the chard may grow to a usable size. Not sure what will happen with the couple of squash I've planted. Lots of basil. I need to plant cilantro this fall after weather cools.

I've shifted a mat nearer the back door and the lab has an easier time standing to eat (his back end kind of slides around on the tile otherwise, his back legs sliding out from under him.) Old guy is arthritic and needs a stable base, so I'll pick up another mat to put down in the feeding area.

I walked back to the compost pile this morning and on my way pulled a dozen or more privet sprouts coming up in the yard. It's an invasive weed now and I'm trying to eradicate it, but it's an uphill battle.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Donuel
Date: 19 Aug 21 - 12:52 AM

With only one dog it was easier to always bake an extra chicken for the dog, the only difference was no spices for the dog except for garlic.
Being careful with bones, occaisionaly I cheated and stole a dog chicken sandwich.
We don't do cat chicken.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Aug 21 - 09:35 PM

I learned a lot about how readers work when I had my surgery follow-up appointment with the optometrist. My walking around glasses have a blank on top (just glass) and a 2.0+ correction on the bifocal. I have 1.5+ readers to use on the computer and I have some 2.0+ readers I bought at Costco that are on the kitchen table and next to the bed for reading books or tablets. I can read with the walking-around glasses, but the field of vision in the readers is better for those specific tasks. All of this illustrates that getting older is something you have to work at.

The test of the $5 convection oven went off flawlessly. I baked a small tray of chicken breast tenders and enjoyed a couple with dinner. (I also fried several okra, made rice in the rice cooker and used the rice-cooker steamer pan to prepare a large bunch of broccoli for me and for the dogs in their dinners.) This us an unusual amount of cooking for August, but it has also been an overcast rainy day.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Donuel
Date: 18 Aug 21 - 06:42 PM

I found proper reading glasses a bother with taking progressives off and putting reading glasses on. With the magnification I need (3.25+), it is too much stress on a progressive astigmatic lens so I just had the progressives tuned from dashboard to infinity length and just slide 3.25 readers over the progressives for close details and laptop.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Donuel
Date: 18 Aug 21 - 05:13 PM

Good luck with your new 2U complexion oven. Convexation ovens are the way to go. We called ours a dejection or objection oven since the fan started making a disconcerting :DAMU DAMU DAMU noise. After a small adjustment it became a sweet confection oven again. I gave it to our oldest and he uses the connection oven often. Yeah I know spelling matters but I let it slide with jokes

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Aug 21 - 12:31 PM

The dogs and I got a nice long walk in after I picked okra first thing this morning (I didn't pick yesterday evening so there were quite a few at the large end of what is still edible). I think one could successfully set up a camera on a tripod and snap a photo every hour to get a good time-lapse look at just how fast okra grows this time of year.

The last long block of our walk was in a drizzle. It's on oddly cool and overcast day for August in Texas.

The test bake of the new-to-me convection oven will take place soon as I put some chicken breast pieces and listen for the fan to run. I used a little Ajax cleanser (they make it "non-scratch" these days) on the trim and glass and it looks brand new.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Charmion
Date: 18 Aug 21 - 10:32 AM

Yesterday’s planning session ran late and covered a hell of a lot of important ground. It was also exhausting.

I woke up tired this morning and so far have not revived appreciably, or indeed at all, so I cancelled pool class and decided on a low-key, no-energy agenda. The fridge is empty, so I must go to the supermarket, and I have dates with the hairdresser and the eye doctor. So today will be about spending money, what fun. I am looking forward to proper reading specs so I don’t have to hold my head at a very particular angle to peruse the paper.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Aug 21 - 05:20 PM

Counting coups: I don't buy small appliances new any more, I look to see what is in the thrift store. I went past a couple of Goodwill stores today and found a nice Wilton cake pan at the first (goodbye old flimsy cakepan) and at the second, I scored a Black & Decker convection toaster oven identical to the one I had two ovens ago, and when that first one died and I couldn't find another clean convection oven I went with a smaller toaster oven (that I've used until now). The last dead one went in with the recycled electronics but I think I might still have the broiler pan in the eBay stuff. This new one had the rack but not the pan.

The funny thing is, I'm playing musical toaster ovens. I just got one last week at Goodwill for my ex. His is quite small and he doesn't have a lot of counter space, so he says it's fine (I told him about this change here and he isn't hankering after the larger ovens). My old non-convection oven will go into the pantry until the next time one of the kids needs one (or my new one dies.) In the clutter category, this is a point against me. The cake pans break even.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Aug 21 - 10:39 AM

Over the past month or so I've walked the dogs most mornings for about 30 minutes and we spend some time in grassy areas, not just pavement, so there is time to sniff and explore. And (knock wood!) it seems to be helping the lab as far as his nighttime behavior. He is either stimulated enough or tired enough that he hasn't been out in the yard barking at nothing at midnight. It means I'm going to bed earlier in order to get up earlier to walk when it's the best temperature of the day, so it's good for me also.

The barking was a fairly recent activity - starting this summer - so it may have simply been a habit he got into, or it may mean his mental faculties are showing their age. The girls have relaxed back into the walking mode, not pulling to try to lead as we walk. We all needed this a lot more than just Zeke.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Charmion
Date: 17 Aug 21 - 09:45 AM

This week’s dance card is downright cluttered, Stilly. If I hadn’t got at those curtains yesterday, when the rods arrived a day early, I probably would not have found t8me to put them up until Friday at the earliest.

Today I am booked for the second day of the choir’s strategic planning effort — goal-setting. With the Delta variant burning through Ontario, I don’t feel as hopeful as I know the other board members need me to.

I also have two more pool work-outs booked, lunch with the in-laws on Thursday, a tune session with my fiddling friends, and what will turn out to be an expensive hour at the eye doctor’s office. Plus a haircut. I so need a haircut!

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Aug 21 - 05:02 PM

Charmion, you accomplished this week's task on Monday! Now how will you spend the rest of the week?

I'm taking an online defensive driving course to get the discount on my insurance; the discount lasts for three years and this is the second online course I've taken. Prior to this there were humans teaching in small classrooms over driving schools, but I was unable to find any in-person classes when I tried in 2018, so I made no attempt this time. These folks are ahead of things as far as COVID-19.

The lawn is fairly dormant in the back yard, so yesterday's mow will last for a while (I'll mow the small area I continue to water so the dogs have some green grass). The front is a different story, I want that St. Augustine to continue to grow so I must water, but if I don't drench it the growth is slower. Today I watered potted plants and filled birdbaths.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Aug 21 - 04:09 PM

Curtains are up in the freshly painted back bedroom. Roll on winter!

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Aug 21 - 10:22 AM

I left the bedroom door open last night and at 5am two of the pooches came rattling in to wish me good morning—way before dawn!

Yesterday I mowed the back yard then tackled the lemon balm that had encroached on the back patio and was growing up through the bricks next to the patio. There was also a thick felt of dog hair (mostly chocolate lab) matted down on the concrete all around the doorway and over the brick, under furniture, etc. With a broom and a dust pan I scraped that up and tossed it into the trash (no need for dog hair and dirt to be tossed onto the lawn and it probably wouldn't do the compost any good). The patio looks fresh and much larger this morning (and I set up my outdoor shower and enjoyed that last night on the newly-cleaned porch). My next move back there is to take down the shredded patio cover 60/40 cloth.

A few weeks ago I took down the vertical blinds over the sliding glass door to the patio and have just insulating curtains in front now to pull on sunny or cold days. I need to sew an extension onto the bottom of them (they don't reach the floor) and I bought an extra panel to use for that.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Aug 21 - 09:21 AM

I vacuumed, I did the laundry. So far, so good. Now I really must tackle the study, which is very dusty.

New curtain rods are coming from Amazon, expected tomorrow, so I know what I'm doing this week: finally putting up curtains in the back bedroom. I don't think anyone can actually see in that window unless they're in the Fishers' back yard with a telescope, but dawn still comes earlier than I really want to be up and doing.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 15 Aug 21 - 07:11 PM

Dupont:

Progress! R helped and we sorted plants out with larger saucers, a soaker hose in the back garden, a "y"connection for the outdoor water faucet, a repaired hose - that was lying around doing naught. R can turn on the water, one side or both, run the soaker hose, and water the deck plantings with the hose and one of those sprayers with various settings. I have a whole bunch of filled gallon jugs inside front door for watering the front plants, also with larger saucers.

Tomorrow I go to Beaver. Tonight making a roast pork with potatoes, carrots and onions to last him a few days. He can always get something in the city. Lots of bread!!! and cheese and tomatoes - a couple each day. And his precious mayo.

The grapevines on the garage have decent ripe grapes today; R picked them and I have cooked them with some apples. May need to add sugar!

There are also grapevines on the house but the grapes are smaller and less accessible - at the second floor level - where I saw a chipmunk (!) run across the ledge outside the screen as I closed the window this am.

I did get rid of Freshy as per instructions! and am back to google!

The outdoor work today has worn me out; hoping for some new energy - to pack up for tomorrow. Remembering some bread! And whatever in the fridge needs cooking sooner.

Will be great to get to a slightly cooler clime. Or, at least, a house that cools off more easily at night. And to finish pots, and make more.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Donuel
Date: 15 Aug 21 - 05:24 PM

Anyone who is able bodied remember that is just a temporary condition.
I am surprised how much atrophy happened in one year. Getting it all back should take almost the same amount of time but so far so good.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Donuel
Date: 15 Aug 21 - 05:20 PM

I'm getting double deliveries on my Amazon orders! Frankly I can use the paint and caulk.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: mg
Date: 15 Aug 21 - 04:30 PM

i live in great happiness in 300 square feet and could go to 200 easily. i did do 120 with loft storage once..that was a bit tight. i would always opt for decent size bathroom and compromise elsewhere. i have not had stuff for a long time but lately have gotten rid of more and it makes such a difference in kitchen especially.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Aug 21 - 11:09 PM

We had thunder and a tiny sprinkle, but hopefully tomorrow will offer more precipitation. The weekend is slated to be stormy on and off.

Recycling transported to the village bins (if I do it once a week it's a lot easier to manage) and bathroom cleaning completed - countertops, mirrors, etc. Laundry finished and put away. The den once again looks like a forest floor (it was in perfect shape a week ago for guests to come over) and will get the sweep and vacuum tomorrow. Vacuum dust off of the fireplace and furniture.

I look at the size of the house and the stuff in here; none of it unreasonable or unusual, but the volume is what I'm thinking about now. It has shrunk considerably since I moved in here, I've given away a lot of stuff, but when I consider that people in New York City and other high-density urban areas live in studio apartments the size of my den and kitchen combined, I realize how fortunate I am to be able to spread out the way I have. That doesn't mean I want to keep all of this here for the kids to deal with in the future. I'm not ready to downsize, I like having the yard and the location I have, but the house needs to have the contents thinned more. (I don't have a storage locker, I resolved years ago to keep the contents of the house here, not pay extra to store stuff. Offsite storage facilities are a going concern, more being built all of the time. There is an opportunity for the savvy investor.)

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Charmion
Date: 14 Aug 21 - 10:35 AM

I have had a very busy week, fraught with meetings and visits and moving of furniture, but in amongst all the shenanigans I have made it to the Y for three workouts since Monday. Hurrah for me.

Today is laundry and vacuuming.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Aug 21 - 10:33 AM

The coolest time of the day here is around 7am, and by about 8:30 it is heating fairly quickly. I've been walking the dogs at 7am, and even then, 77^o with high humidity is a fairly rough walk (the dogs pant up a storm pretty quickly). When we walk back in the door they all flop down on the cool concrete floor in the sunroom (I'm tempted to join them). Good thing I can sweat.

I watered the garden and part of the back yard yesterday, and we have a 50% chance of rain today, with storms this morning passing from west to east over the area two counties to the north of here. Even with a chance of rain I should probably water some of the front yard because I'm trying to keep the turf alive that has migrated in from next door (St. Augustine). It looks better than my old weeds did. If I wash laundry and hang it on the line I might be tempting the rain to come closer. :-)

Here in mid-August we're seeing the full force of summer, but around the edges we see hints of autumn. Trees and shrubs drop leaves because of the heat, the woods across the road are a bit more brown as the grass dries (same as the back of my yard that I let grow with native groundcover). A month from now will still be hot, but it will be cooling more overnight. Two months from now I'll still be fussing with the garden, but also will be watching for warnings of frost (the first frost can happen any time from mid-October to late-November). There are indoor activities ignored during the summer that come back into play.

As hot as it is, I'm working on the fitness side of things, and as it cools that becomes easier. I don't make resolutions for the New Year, but by the end of this year I hope to have made some improvements that would have counted as good resolutions to make back in January.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Donuel
Date: 13 Aug 21 - 10:45 PM

Another thing you will never encounter...

If you ever do an epoxy painting in a pool you have to make the subject 3 times taller in height because the refraction in water will foreshorten the picture by a factor between 2 and 3 times when an image is on the vertical sides. The bottom will not be distorted. Its a bit like painting an upside down dome.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Aug 21 - 10:23 PM

Dorothy, if it is just if Firefox then you should be able to do a couple of things: open the Firefox extensions and find the one you don't want and delete it. And look at the settings and make Google your default search engine again.

Watering the back and the garden this evening. The dogs need an area of green grass for rolling around and general comfort. It also means they track a bit less dirt and dry grass into the house.

Laundry is being washed one load a day and put up on the line, and that will add up to about three loads a week. Not bad. There are plenty of other power drains around here, but this is 30-45 minutes of heat not being generated each time.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Donuel
Date: 13 Aug 21 - 07:00 PM

SKYLIGHT JOKE: I put a skylight in my bathroom. The upstairs neighbors are furious.

I am planning a new landscape theme next year to look impressive at a distance. If its showey outrageous and dramatic its for me.
I am on schedule to re-tileing and painting trouble spots on the pool.
It is already mostly black for solar heating purposes with the huge image of a whale and its calf. It was 100 today but with AC breaks I got some outside work done. Maybe late Fall I will get around to oiling the fence with linseed oil.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 13 Aug 21 - 05:49 PM

Dupont:

That strange site I invited in ISSUU also brought with it something called "Freshy" which totally interferes and messes up searches. Apple help, after a lengthy session informed that it was only on Firefox which is not an Apple app. So could not help me. I may have gotten rid of it just now. I will be careful - it sneaks in and does the search in place of google; trying to find a place in QC yesterday was impossible. Other things kept getting in the way. It should have been simple; I gave up after about 30 minutes of frustration. We'll see if I won.

As for a youngster to water; I do not know anyone.... But you jiggled my brain enough to get me think of the couple people I know slightly, whom I would trust to come up with a reliable body - if they knew one.

Currently, looking for an a/c for the "studio" so I can get something done! I may go out shortly to see what is locally available at building supply stores. Very carefully, with mask!

I am connected to a group on FB in the area where I lived 60 years ago; it is fantastic! Someone asks this kind of ? and in minutes they are getting suggestions! Almost makes me homesick! One of the main folks is our former babysitter, now a township councillor, and another went to grade one with my son, and grew up in the house my family built! Her 94 year old dad still lives there. Beautiful location, surrounded now by land "in conservation".

The people around Beaver would be helpful - almost like that - but here... I have not even seen the man with two dogs with whom I used to have good conversations. I might as well be on a deserted island. I am simply struggling to accept what is. Surely that is a kind of de-clutter!

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Aug 21 - 10:44 PM

Dorothy, is there some pet-minder or local reliable teenager you can hire to go over to water the tomatoes for you?

I took a couple of days off from the alternate day fasting; it's difficult to do when you have a lot of coming and going. The next few days will see a bit lower temperatures so I'll pick it up again, and make a point of more walking (and I have to mow the back yard).

That's a real pretty gentian, Don. The leaf pattern is interesting. I don't have a particular nursery to recommend, I don't know how national they are versus regional, considering the issues of plants being adapted to a given area, as well as the rapid transport of all of that living cargo.

Excellent news about the new plastic cover and the vaccine, Patty! Good work!

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: pattyClink
Date: 12 Aug 21 - 10:41 PM

The days never quite go as planned. Yesterday I looked up and discovered the plastic skylight over my bed had flown away, only the screen was left. Close encounter with a tree limb while searching for shade I think.

Blessedly I was able to scurry off to an above-par rv fixit place 30 miles away in Salina. They worked me in, and as the guy fixed it I searched for jabs nearby (had already researched several places in Nebraska). Got lucky and found a walk-in clinic nearby and got it over with. Nice and non-invasive process, with good advice from the nurse.   (I had forgotten it helps to hydrate before/after you get the vaccines)

Left behind the 104+ steaminess in Kansas, but driving north took me into 90ish California smoke haze in Nebraska. Ah well, they promise rain and a drop in temp tonight, let's see how that pans out. So far I do hear some sprinkles.

Good luck with the okra crop, isn't that great stuff? Ahh.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 12 Aug 21 - 09:19 PM

Dupont:

The quality of the heat/humidity seemed to affect me less today. After BF I dashed off to the library, then to the grocery - too busy so I returned home. But it was good to return a pile of books!

I have set up a place for the distiller on the back deck so it is not generating heat in the K. Got it going this am and watered.... Even the canna in the front yard was wilting today but it is burgeoning with new shoots. The rain we had was minimal. The soil in the back garden is dry down to 3-4 inches. Watered it for a while. Even with large saucers, the big pots need almost a gallon twice a day. Even if I get all the tomatoes into the back garden I cannot trust they will survive without LOTS of water. And R is back to working 10-12 hour days, coming home about 11 pm. I am coming to acceptance that I am stuck here and need to find ways to make it better - basically to have a place to pot that is cool enough.

Went out to groceries about 6:30 when they were almost empty. Tolerable with car A/C and now back in the A/C of BR. Too cloudy to see the meteor shower. Hoping to get some things done on Sunday when it is predicted to be cooler - only about 75 - my limit!

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Donuel
Date: 12 Aug 21 - 09:06 PM

What nurseries are recommended iyo
https://www.springhillnursery.com/product/gentian-blue-cross
One summer I raised a dozen different passion flowers. They are amazing but have little visual impact.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Aug 21 - 09:57 AM

We walked a mile + this morning and it was already 80 out there at 7:30am so hitting the house air conditioning after that felt great and I was drenched in sweat. Next I mixed up a batch of "mound drench" mix (liquid humate, orange oil, and molasses if you have it) in a gallon of water to spray on the garden to try to knock out a few of the ticks that seem to be lining up to jump on me when I pick. There are a bunch of okra ready to cut right now so after it has a little time to dry I'll put on the men's dress shirt (kids used to wear their dad's shirt backwards as a painting apron) and I have the lint roller handy and I'll pick then go over my clothes to see if there are any ticks. I ordered a reusable coverall garment to use for when I do more work out there (to take off carefully, lint roll or whatever if there are ticks). Taking care of garden stuff is ok at eighty degrees when you realize it will be over 100 later in the day.

Since there has been a rodent living under my garden then I'm pretty sure it is the source of the ticks.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Aug 21 - 04:36 PM

It was a day of running around, between appointments and after. I was at my favorite Goodwill and found a clean little toaster oven for the ex who said he thought he needed one because lately he has been perching things on top of his toaster to warm them - $4.99 is much better than $30 or $40 new. Use this one because it is already manufactured and still working and I'm sure he'll set to work right away to clean off the few spots inside it. No rust or caked on grease. These seem to be one of those kitchen gadgets that people either use to death or barely use at all, and the trick is to find the unused ones in the thrift store.

I stopped by the discount gourmet grocery warehouse and they had a shopping cart full of boxes of cut flowers. The price tags showed they were originally $15, but this place sold them for $1.99 each; I picked up three, one for the ex, one for me, and I trimmed the stem bottoms and took the third to my across-the-street neighbor who doesn't get out much. I don't have flowers in the house very often but when I do they always make me smile. These were all different colored rosebuds with other flowers that I think might have originally been intended for Costco. (The smile is all the bigger when the flowers didn't break the bank!)

The heat index is at 103^o and every time I got into the car I had to blast the A/C. I think, like Dorothy, it's time for a nap in a darkened room with a ceiling fan running. :)

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 11 Aug 21 - 03:00 PM

Dupont:

Trying to figure out what to do about getting back to Beaver: trying to organize toward easier watering. Got one potted tomato plant into the ground before the RAIN!!! last night. But the heat is totally debilitating for me. To the point where just sitting in the tv room for a few minutes felt as though I was going to quit breathing. So, I am in BR at 74F and comfortable. Leaving for a few minutes for food has me scurrying back. Without me driving, R is back to working 10-12 hour days. Can I trust him to water enough to keep these plants alive for a few days... He will promise but...

And I really want to get home and finish pots, glaze, fire, make more... If the heat really gets to me, I reach a state of not caring - very unhealthy.

OK: Sunday predicted cooler - get plants into better places and leave on Monday for 10 days of cooler weather and getting things done in the studio. Send R frequent reminders!!

It did cool off last night to the maximum tolerable temp. No covers, slight breeze. No noise!

Computer did one of those upgrade things this morning. I don't see how to get rid of ISSUU but nothing seems to be wonky today so I shant worry about it. R found out how to get phone to start ringing again! I swear I did not change anything; it did it itself! Nap time!

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Aug 21 - 10:31 PM

Patty, I'm pretty sure you can find a CVS in a smaller town that has less activity. Or go during a quiet time of the day. And I bet you can still find some outdoor shot clinics along the way if you do a search of the route ahead of where you're travelling. We'll all feel better about your travels once you're vaccinated. :-)

Dorothy, I looked up ISSUU - it looks like some kind of digital publishing platform. You should be able to uninstall it with little fuss.

Calorie blowout today. It was an eating day that ran amok. Will resume the hard work tomorrow as a fasting day, when I start early with a bone density scan then have another appointment later in the morning and in between can do some shopping. I've had a text from a friend with the location of a thrift store that should have jigsaw puzzles for sale - I finished the current one this morning. My puzzle this year one was 550 pieces and took a while; this one had 300 and took almost as long because of the amount of tree bark and pink flowers all over the thing. But both were pleasant diversions for a few minutes at a time.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: pattyClink
Date: 10 Aug 21 - 09:53 PM

Thanks Stilly. I am going to try to stick to low-density backwaters and avoid population centers (and visiting people who are high risk) until this thing calms down, with the exception of a command performance with elder sisters in Sept. Don't want to be a vector.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 10 Aug 21 - 09:49 PM

Dupont:

Found my friend and had a wonderful conversation about our lives, touching on bits of our 80 years! However, in my searching, I downloaded something called ISSUU and now everything seems a bit strange. Something called "Freshy" keeps appearing. And I have no idea how to work the ISSUU which did not have the original desired effect. Tomorrow I shall see if I can get rid of it. Too tired now.

Other than that, and much time on FB, I mopped the first floor and have spent considerable time looking at the weather reports to see if we will get enough rain for me to go to Beaver for a few days and leave R to WATER THE PLANTS! Maybe next Tuesday...

A bit of thunder and a minimal precipitation the last hour of so - the excess humidity falling to the ground! A/C in BR only gets the room down to 75F so I am afraid we shall live with the noise tonight. Outside temp will not go below 24C and that will not cool the house at all.

Charmion: love hearing about your wonderful progress in transforming your home to your liking!

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Charmion
Date: 10 Aug 21 - 06:15 PM

Rick the painter has finished his work, and it looks just great.

Then he did me an enormous favour — a solid mitzvah that I never expected, and a service I would normally have expected to pay for. He helped me disassemble and move two large beds, swapping the queen-sized guest bed from the bedroom he just finished painting for the Victorian double I have been using since Edmund died. So the smaller bedroom at the front of the house, where the closet is crap and the street light shines in the window like the Eye of Sauron, is now the guest room, and I have transferred my flag into the freshly painted original master bedroom of the house.

I still have to put up curtains in there, but it’s not urgent. The window faces north, and none of the neighbours have jeezly great security lights to shine straight into my eyes when I’m trying to fall asleep.

It is now suppertime, I am drenched with sweat, and my Fitbit says that I have logged nearly 8,000 steps and climbed the stairs 15 times. I haven’t left the house all day.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Aug 21 - 04:15 PM

I've been wishing that 2 years ago I hadn't paid for that extended Nissan warranty (from the dealer/manufacturer, not the bogus calls and texts that come unsolicited). I haven't driven much of anywhere. I think I've been out of the county perhaps three times in the last 18 months? (The county line I have in mind is about 10 miles south of my house.)

Hindsight is 20/20.

Subject: RE: De-clutter & Fitness in a Pandemic: 2021
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 10 Aug 21 - 02:14 PM

Charmion, it will eventually be sold by your heirs and assigns as that legendary "car owned by a little old lady (who drove stick) to church on Sundays--when there wasn't a health emergency in effect."